Guarding His Guardian
by Gosangoku
Summary: He still can't believe how much the brat has grown... Idiot, making him feel so conflicted. — US/UK.


When he heard obnoxious and consistent knocking at his door, Arthur eventually growled in aggravation before getting out of bed and yanking a thick jumper on. He coughed into his fist before stumbling to his door and wrenching it open irately, glaring at whoever woke him up with the insufferable knocking.

"Hey there, England!" a jovial voice shouted in its usual loud tone.

Twitching and inwardly counting to ten so that he wouldn't murder the man at his door, he muttered in annoyance, "I should have known it was you." Despite his apparent anger, he was always actually slightly pleased to see Alfred. He didn't want to be completely out of the other man's life. Alfred was still special to him, despite his independent and jubilantly intolerable nature. "You might as well come in," the dirty-blond murmured and stepped aside to let the taller man in. "Or you'll get sick."

Grinning jovially, Alfred entered the place he once called home. "This place always brings back memories," he said.

Arthur folded his arms and shivered but continued glaring at Alfred. "Negative ones?" he enquired angrily, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

He could never hide anything from Alfred though, and when the taller man's sparkling blue eyes turned to him, he had to avert his own eyes.

"No," Alfred said as if talking to someone who had just escaped from an insane asylum. "Good ones. I miss 'em," he said, beaming.

Arthur stared at Alfred for a long moment with wide, disbelieving and hopeful eyes. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he turned away to hide his watering eyes. "Tea?" he offered, somehow keeping his voice level.

Alfred wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Ugh, no," he said and gave a dramatic shudder. "I hate that stuff. I want coffee," he said, grinning now.

Grumbling something about repugnant taste, Arthur retrieved the coffee he always kept in a far cabinet in case Alfred ever did come to visit which, secretly, he always hoped for.

"So…" Alfred said, attempting to make conversation as his coffee and Arthur's tea boiled. "How's the recession goin' for you?" he enquired, happy that he found something to talk about.

Reluctantly, Arthur muttered, "Not so wonderful, actually. It's rather difficult, really." The smell of Alfred's coffee filled the air and the green-eyed man grimaced before pouring it into a white mug and handed it to the blond man.

Alfred grabbed it with a hasty, "Thanks," and then stared appraisingly at the man who used to take care of him. For the first time that day, he really looked at him and realised how tired the shorter man looked. His usually pale skin was flushed and despite that obvious heated skin, the man was shivering. He had darkening circles under his stunning emerald eyes, too, which showed he had been working hard to keep the recession under control. "You don't look so good," he stated, speaking his mind.

The shorter man twitched, grabbed his tea and sat down before muttering, "Well, I'm sorry my appearance offends you."

Alfred blinked and noticed how the man's shoulders slumped slightly after he had said that. "I meant," he said, correcting himself. "You look sick."

Arthur stared for a moment before his flushed skin became slightly darker, presumably blushing for misunderstanding. "Oh," he said dumbly. "Well, yes, I've been trying to keep the recession in order, you see, so I've…"

When he began rambling Alfred rolled his eyes. _He's the same as always_, he mused in amusement. _But how do I get him to shut up? When I was a kid, I just tugged on his sleeve and whined about talking to much_. He chuckled to himself, but Arthur didn't notice because he was too busy making excuses for being sick. _I doubt that'd work now without England getting even madder at me. Hmm… what to do… Aha!_

Arthur, being too busy rambling, didn't notice the feral smirk on Alfred's face. Leaning across the table – which was terribly bad manners, you know – Alfred pressed his lips against Arthur's, making the Englishman halt instantaneously.

Too shocked to do much else, Arthur sat in his seat completely frozen. His stunned green eyes were wide as he stared into Alfred's half-closed and insatiable ones.

When Alfred bit down seductively on his lower lip, Arthur came back to his senses. He squealed like a schoolgirl and jumped backwards, which proved a mistake as he tripped on his chair and fell. _This is _not_ my day_, he thought miserably and closed his eyes, preparing to hit his head.

However, no pain came. Carefully, Arthur opened one emerald eye and met amused but concerned azure ones.

"Artie?" the taller blond asked in anxiety. "You okay?"

Arthur felt his face burn and nodded vigorously. "I'm alright," he squeaked. Clearing his throat, he said grumpily, "It—it was your fault I fell in the first place! If you hadn't—hadn't…"

"Kissed you?" Alfred offered, unperturbed.

Feeling his face become even hotter, Arthur nodded. "If you hadn't… done _that_, then I wouldn't have…!"

"Arthur." The addressed man looked up on impulse and his lips collided with another pair for the second time that afternoon. Instead of the almost-passionate kiss before, this one was gentle and sweet. "Shut up." Alfred grinned.

Arthur raised a hand to touch his burning lips and stared at Alfred incredulously again. "What are you—?"

"You really worried me, you know," Alfred said, interrupting him. But somehow, Arthur wasn't as infuriated as he usually would be. Instead, he was astonished. Looking slightly abashed for once, Alfred continued. "You always overexerted yourself – even when I was little, but you always kept going for everyone else and despite your over-the-top temperament… you're a really good person, and… I always worry about you…" Alfred met Arthur's gaze, no longer looking embarrassed but determined instead. "I love you, Arthur."

Seconds passed, and they turned into minutes. A pregnant silence erupted between them and strong emotions collided with one another within them.

Alfred didn't want to give in – he was a hero, after all, and heroes never gave up – but under Arthur's unwavering stare, he felt more exposed than usual. He was prepared to leave when he felt something fall against his shoulder. Looking back down, he was surprised to find Arthur's head resting against his shoulder. The smaller blonds' shoulders were shaking slightly.

Worried, Alfred frowned. He pulled back slightly but Arthur didn't let go of his grip on Alfred's jacket. "England…?" he murmured. When he felt some kind of wet substance leaking through his clothes, his eyes widened in comprehension. "Arthur, are you _crying_?" he asked in disbelief, utterly astounded.

"N—no!" the older man said, but his statement was betrayed by his sniffling. He pulled back and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve hurriedly. "I'm _not_ crying," he muttered, but his voice shook.

Smiling fondly, Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist and pulled him closer. He rested his chin on Arthur's dirty-blond hair and nuzzled into it happily.

"Arthur, you're so cute sometimes," he said jovially, chuckling.

Glad that Alfred couldn't see his dark blush, Arthur sputtered and shouted angrily, "I'm _not_ cute! Don't call someone who is older than you _cute_!"

"Aww…" Alfred cooed, only aggravating Arthur further.

However, instead of going on a rage-filled murdering rampage (to America), Arthur grumbled but wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck and wove his hands into the sunshine-golden hair and hugged him tightly.

"E—England…?" Alfred murmured with wide eyes, surprised. Upon receiving no reply, the taller man smiled softly and held Arthur close.

_I'll protect you, like you protected me before_.

"I love you, Arthur."

"…I love you too… Alfred."

**USxUK—AmericaxEngland—AlfredxArthur—AmericaxEngland—USxUK**

_**Hetalia – Axis Powers**_** belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya, and this fanfiction is in no way related to it – that's why it's called **_**fan**_**fiction.**

**USxUK is so adorable. –**_**starry eyes**_**– They're meant for each other!**

**-**_**coughs**_**- Enough of obsessive-fan-mode. Uh… happy belated Valentines Day. I don't really celebrate it, and although this has nothing to day with Valentines Day… uh… you can take it as a Valentines Day fic anyway.**

**In case you don't know, when they talk about 'the recession,' they mean the "credit crunch." If you don't know about that, ask your parents/teachers/someone else. Or just research it. –**_**waves dismissively**_**–**

**Oh, and for a Valentines gift that England gave America… use your imaginations. –**_**wink wink, nudge nudge**_**- And since Arthur is so tsundere, you know that he would definitely give Alfred **_**something**_**… maybe without the intentions some people would have, but… I think Alfred will be happy with the results! And I'm sure Francis will be pleased to have something to tease Arthur about.**

**Reviews are appreciated but not necessary. Hint hint.**


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